Replaceable heel construction



July 5, 1960 R. SULTAN REPLACEABLE HEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 19. 1956INVE N TO R Kobe/ i Sulfa/1 ATTORNEY United StatesPatent O.

2,943,404 REPLACEABLE HEEL CONSTRUCTION Robert Sultan, Westbury, NY.

Steel Shank Co., 1001 Pa'cifi'c St., Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Filed Oct. 19, 1956, Ser. No. 617,043

1 Claim. 01. 36- 42) The present invention relates to a heelconstruction and particularly to a heel shoes;

It is desirable for style and dress to change the heel of a womans shoeeither to change the overall decorative appearance thereof or to modifythe same to cause it to conform with different styles or appearances ofother garments.

However, considerable difficulty has been experienced in that whileheels are replaceable the changed heel is not firmly secured in positionand furthermore there is considerable difiiculty in replacing the heel,requiring the use of toolsor diflicult manipulative operations.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide anovel, replaceable heel construction and particularly a metal finding,useful in association therewith which will permit the heel to be readilyreplaced and removed and which may be readily operated by the wearerthereof without tools or manipulative d-ifliculty.

Another object is to provide a novel replaceable heel construction and anovel metal finding to be associated therewith which upon simpleoperation may permit detachment of one heel and replacement by anotherheel with assurance that the heel will be firmly and definitely securedin position and with the further assurance that once secured in positionit will not tend to loosen upon wear, walking of normal usage.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detaileddescription set forth below, it being understood, however, that thisrnore detailed description is given by'way of illustration andexplanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changestherein maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention.

.,In accomplishing the above objects, it has been found most suitable toprovide a plate structure attached to the upper rear portion of the shoeand particularly the portion thereof directly above the heel withanother plate positioned on the top of a replaceable heel. The upperplate is desirably associated with the rear portion of the metal shankand conforms thereto and is locked in position with respect thereto. Theupper plate attached to the rear portion of the base of the shoe upperabove the heel will carry a pivotal arrangement with a rotatable camelement while the lower plate on the top of the re movable heel willhave a recess to engage and cooperate with the cam portion which isreciprocably and rotatably mounted upon the upper plate.

The rotatable cam element is desirably provided with a swinging tabmounted upon an upper element which is readily accessible on theinterior of the shoe at the heel thereof and which when lifted up willenable rotation of the cam or vertical reciprocal movement of the cam,thus enabling locking and unlocking of the heel from its connection atthe rear of the shoe. The lower plate on the top of the removable heelis desirably provided with a'half moon or oif-round-shape opening whichwill engage the cam, locking the cam in one position, and

construction for womens Cangen Mach. &

I 2,943,404 Patented July 5, 1960 permitting its removal and the removalof the heel in the invention consists of the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specificallydescribed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein isshown an embodiment of the invention, butit is to be understood thatchanges, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fallwithin the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a top plan view of the rear inside portion of a shoe showingthe heel locking means in locked position;

Figure 2 is a transverse, vertical sectional view of the rear portion ofa high heel shoe taken upon the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, showing the heel inlocked position;

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view similar to the line ofFig. 2., showing the heel and upper in separated position;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken upon the line4-4 of Fig. 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary, transverse vertical sectional view taken uponthe line 5--5 of Fig. l;

Figure 6 is a transverse, horizontal sectional view taken on the line6-6 of Fig. 3, looking upward at the rear of the shoe when removed fromthe assembly;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the top of the heel, looking downwardlyfrom line 7--7 of Fig. 3, showing the locking cam arrangement whenremoved from the heel; Q

Figure 8 is a perspective separated view showing the various elements ofthe locking arrangement before assembly in the construction of Figures1-6; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view upon a small scale of the steel shankused in conjunction with the heel locking arrangement of the presentinvention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown a shoe A having a detachableheel B. The shank C is mounted in the shoe structure A between theinsole lining D and the sole E. g

The heel locking means to which the present invention is particularlydirected has an upper plate F which con forms inshape, size and rivet ornail openings to the rear plate G of the shank C. The plate F carriesthe cam H which in turn is mounted within or on the upper collar J. Theupper collar J carries the handle member K. The lower plate L has anoff-center opening M and a stop member N to cooperate with the cam H,

Referring specifically to the construction shown in Fig. 8 the cam H hasa half-circular cylindrical portion 10 ofslightly less diameter than theperiphery 11 of the opening M and the fiat face 12 of which will passinside of the edge 13 of the opening M of Fig. 7. It will be noted thatthe opening M (Fig. 7) also has a semicircular enlargement 14.

The upwardly extending stud portion 15 will pass up through the openingM, the central large opening 16, the large opening'17 in the rear plateportion G of the shank C (see Fig. 9) and the central opening 18 in theelement J to the upper portion of which it will be pinned in position asindicated at 23. The element I will have four openings 19 to receive thelock pin 20 and the limit pin 21. There will be two diametricallyopposite lock pins 20 and two diametrically opposite limit pins 21. Thereciprocating handle portion K has a liftable tip 22 which can berotated upon the hinge pin 24 so that it is accessible from the interiorupper portion of the shoe, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By means of thepins 20 and 21 sliding vertically in the holes 19 it is possible toelevate or depress the upper member K in either the elevated tion G ofthe shank C conforms to the plate F and is held in position above theplate F as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 by pins, screws or rivets extendingthrough the front trio 4 of holes 36 and the rear trio of holes 37 inthe plate G and the front trio of holes 38 and the rear trio of holes 39in the plate F.

The plate F will also have two forward downwardly projecting pins orstuds 40 and two rear downwardly projecting pins or studs 41. Thesestuds 40 and 41, respectively, are inserted and located in the holes 42and 43 at the front and rear of the plate L in the heel, as shown inFig. 7. The plate 7 will be held in position by the screws 44 which passthrough the openings 45 in the bottom plate L.

Referring to Figure 6, the locking pins will be in the positionsindicated at 48 which is 90 removed from the locking position.

The limit pins 21 will limit the movement of the element K to 90 uponlocking or unlocking of the cam H. The rivets which extend through theholes 36, 37, 38 and 39 are shown at 49 in Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. 4, the stop plate may be welded or otherwisepermanently mounted on the underside of the plate L. The cam will bestopped at one side .by contact of its corner 50 against the edge 51 ofthe stop plate. In the other direction, the corner 52 will be receivedin the annular recess 53 and act as an opposite stop which will give thecamming swing of about 90 from locking to unlocking position. Inunlocked position the corner 52 will be in the recess 53 and the cam maybe thrown out of opening or hole M. In the other position, the shoulder54 on the top of the cam, as shown in Fig. 8, will fit under the edge ofthe hole M and lock the heel securely in position.

In assembly, the shank portion G and the plate F are riveted in positionthrough the rivet holes 36, 37, 38 and 39 by the rivets 49 as shown inFigs. 2 and 3.

The plate F will have been previously assembled with the cam H, thecollar I and the handle element K by the peaned-over connection 24. Therear of the shoe will have been previously provided with an opening asindicated at 62 to receive the assembly of K-J. The sock lining D may bereadily lifted to give access to the unit K-I and to rivet the handlemember 22 upon the hinge pin 23.

Normally, the handle 23 will be pushed downwardly as shown in Figs. 1and 2 and will be elevated, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, when the cam H isto be moved from locked to unlocked position and when the heel B is tobe removed or replaced.

The assembly of the heel plate L will take place by inserting the screws44 in the openings 45. The heel will be recessed as indicated at 35 andalso as indicated at 63 to receive the cam H, as well as the plates Fand stop N.

When the heel is locked in position the shoulder 54 will be under theedge of the opening M with the corner 50 abutting the edge 51 of thestop plate N. This locked position is shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 At thesame time the studs '40 and 41 of the plate B will project into theopenings 42 and 43, as shown in.

Fig. 4, latching the plates F and L together so that they cannot swingin respect to one another with the plate F already being held fixedly inposition by rivets 49 in respect to the shank portion G.

In this locked position the handle element K will be down against thecollar J and the cam H will be down in the recess 35, as indicated inFigs. 2 and 5.

Now, to remove the heel, the lining-D will be lifted as well as thehandle 22. V l

With the handle 22 in the position as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, the upperelement K is lifted or elevated from the element I which will lift thelock pins 20 out of the holes 47 and the structure K-J-H will be free toturn on the shaft 15 which extends through the fixed openings 16 in theplates F and 17 in the shank portion G.

This cam will then turn from the locked position of Fig. 4 until itsnose 52 fits into the recess 53 of Fig. 4 whereupon its edges 10 and 12will match the edges 11 and 13 of the hole M.

In this position the cam H may be lifted out of the hole M, releasingthe heel B from the upper A with the studs 40 and 41 disengaging fromthe holes 42 and 43.

The separation will take place as shown in Fig. 3.

To reassemble a new heel, the new heel as shown in Fig. 3 is movedupwardly against the cam H so that the cam II will move into the hole M.At this moment the element K is lifted from the element 1, as shown inFig. 3. Then the element K is pressed down against the element J,causing the lock pins 20 to be ready upon turning 90 to fit into theholes 47 with the studs 40 and 41 fitting into the holes 42 and 43. Whenthe cam H is turned so that its nose 50 hits the edge 51 of the lockplate A the new heel will be firmly locked in posi- It will be notedthat the device is shown as below the sock lining D, but the sock liningmay be lifted up or a hole may be cut therein to give access toturntable flap 22.

Of the four pins 20 and 21 arranged in diametrically opposite pairs, thetwo pins 20 which are smaller in diameter but longer will act as lockpins fitting into the holes 47 to lock the device into position (seeFigs. 6 and 8).

The edge 14 is a bearing for the shaft 15. Instead of the peaned-overportion 24, a taper pin may be driven through the shaft 15 and thecollar J to hold the assembly together.

The insole R will carry the elements I and K as shown in Figs. 2 and 3in the opening 62 in the insole R.

The steel shank C is attached to the insole R by cement and tacking at61. The rear portion of the steel shank is mounted in position when therivets are driven through the holes 38 and 39 of the upper plate F and36 and 37 of the rear steel shank portion 36.

The filler portion S is applied above the outsole E over the shank, butmay be omitted if the upper part is cut down or routed out sufiicientlyas indicated at 63 in Fig. 3.

The plate L must always be recessed below the plane of the top of theheel to a depth equal to the combined thickness of the three metalelements. In the preferred construction the three plates G, F and L willall be received in the recessed upper portion of the heel.

It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided a simple replaceableheel construction and the particular assembly thereof which may bereadily associated with womens shoes and which will permit readyreplacement of the heels without special tools or without any special,

permanently nailed or screwed to the rear of the upper;

The amount of turning from unlocked to locked position as shown in Figs.l-9 is between and but this amount of turn may be varied withoutchanging the essential features of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

In a shoe having an upper and a replaceable heel,

means for removably mounting said heel on said upper,

5 said means including a shank in said shoe upper, a plate fixed to saidshank, said shank and said plate each having an opening aligned witheach other, a rotatable cam, having a locking shoulder, extendingthrough said aligned openings, means on said plate for holding said camin operative position, said cam holding means including a handle, asecond plate mounted in said heel, said heel plate having an openingtherein, adapted to be aligned with the openings in said first-mentionedplate and said shank, adapted to receive said cam, and a locking memherin said heel adapted to cooperate with said shoulder of said cam to holdsaid cam in locked position, said shoulder adapted to be moved into andout of contact with said locking member to hold said heel in position onthe shoe or to permit the removal thereof, respectively, by turning saidhandle of said cam holding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

